Spain: Sigfrido opens new facilities amid sharp growth

Spain-based supplier Sigfrido Fruits has opened up new packing and storage facilities following strong sales growth in its two main products – avocados and mangoes.

Since the company was established five years ago it had been renting out various facilities in the country, but last year it began constructing its own 2,800-square-meter plant amid rising demand from clients.

Company owner Sigfrido Molina told Fresh Fruit Portal that in 2017 he had bought land near to Vérez-Malaga in the Spanish region of Andalusia.

This year he finishing constructing a plant – which includes offices, cold storage chambers and a packhouse.

As well as being in the heart of one of Spain’s leading horticultural-producing regions, it is also in an important entry point for imported produce.

“The construction of these installations was the solution to the demand from my clients that is rising on a daily basis,” he said, adding company turnover had doubled over the last two years.

“The cold storage chamber is of the latest generation which allows me to obtain all the certifications like GlobalG.A.P. and IFS [International Featured Standards], and we can now get any certification required by the client.”

He added that he had also invested 280,000 euros in a new fruit calibrator.

Latin American exotics

The company began by selling fruit grown by Molina, but he said that on the back of good acceptance he began importing avocados and mangoes from countries including Mexico, Peru, Kenya, Colombia, Chile and South Africa.

Last year Sigfrido trialled Colombian mango and pineapple imports, and according to Molina the latter has been very successful thanks to their high quality.

He also noted that Colombia had a good climate to grow pineapples and over recent months had not received the heavy rainfall there had been in Central American growing regions.

The company is now also importing small quantities of airfreighted exotic fruit to add to its portfolio.

“This has been made possible now that we have an adequate cold storage chamber to maintain it,” Molina said.

Molina is now looking to find new Latin American exporters in all the main fruit-producing countries to supply Sigfrido, and highlighted Brazilian mangoes as one crop that was in his sights.